By: Joan Muller

WHILE DEVELOPERS continue to announce new estate developments on the already crowded banks of Hartbeespoort Dam with much fanfare, one of Gauteng's premier leisure destinations has seemingly lost some of its investment appeal.

Up until 18 months or so ago, Hartbeespoort Dam was considered to be one of the region's property hot spots, with house prices in luxury golf estates such as Pecanwood and boomed enclave Kosmos doubling in the preceding three years. At one stage it was even said that Pecanwood was fetching the highest land values in SA.

But since mid-2004 the Hartbeespoort property market has experienced quite a slump. A number of owners who bought in upmarket gated estates two or three years ago are apparently now struggling to get the original prices paid.

Local developer Ian Meyer, who recently launched the R3bn Leloko Estate development on a 210ha site on the dam's north-western shore, blames unscrupulous developers for putting a brake on Hartbeespoort's booming property market.

Meyer says that over the past few years, too many developers entered the market set on making a quick buck by selling stands in new projects before obtaining bank finance or the required local authority approval. That resulted in many proposed developments failing and investors losing their deposits. Large scale developments, such as Venice Village ? a waterfront marina village, which included a five-star hotel, retail outlets, restaurants and a housing component planned for the dam's south-eastern shores ? have been delayed for nearly a decade. Other gated developments, such as The Bay, Cable View and Falcon View, have also struggled to get off the ground, seeing investors taking their money to other leisure destinations. But Meyer says there's hope that investors will be back to the dam through more responsible development. There's already been a marked uptick in buyer interest over the past few months, says Meyer, with the recent upgrade of major roads in the area no doubt playing a major role.

At Leloko all necessary rezoning, subdivision and environmental approvals were in place before sales opened to the public two weeks ago.

Meyer says that developers should place more emphasis on environmental considerations and strive for lower density residential projects, unlike that of many recent Hartbeespoort developments where building densities comprise up to 80% of stand sizes.

Leloko, which will have generous greenbelt areas with 2,5km water frontage and views over the dam, is pitched at a slightly more affordable level than some of its neighbouring estates. Complete building packages with stands varying between 700sq m and 900sq m and homes sized from 140sq m to 200sq m are selling from R980 000 to R1,5m. On the other side of the dam at Pecanwood, two stands are currently on the market for around R4m each.